Adventures of Naruto Namikaze
by Lobo Argost
Summary: Naruto's parents don't die sealing the Nine-Tails in him. How will his life be different? NaruSaku. Title sucks, I'm sure.
1. Chapter 1

Adventures of Naruto Namikaze

Welcome to Adventures of Naruto Namikaze, my third Naruto AU. In this one, Naruto's parents don't die when sealing the Nine-Tails into Naruto, so Naruto grows up knowing the love of parents. How will things change for Naruto and the ninja world, when the Yellow Flash of the Leaf/fourth Hokage does not die? You'll see.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

Minato Namikaze had seem many things in his life. He had seen his student be buried, he had killed many men in cold blood during the war. But nothing could have prepared him for this, his wife's pain as she gave birth to their son.

"Calm down and focus, Minato!" said the voice of Biwako Sarutobi, who was serving as a midwife.

Minato nodded and focused on keeping the seal in place. As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina's seal weakened while she was in labor, and it was his job to keep it in place.

"You're doing great, Lady Kushina," Taji, the other midwife said, focusing on delivering the child.

Kushina groaned in pain as she gave another push.

Soon, an infant's cry filled the air, making Minato shed tears of joy as Taji and Biwako cleaned the boy off and wrapped him in a blanket.

"Congratulations, Lord Hokage, Lady Kushina. Your son is completely healthy," Taji said, about to hand him to Kushina before a sword pierced her chest, killing her.

"Taji!" Minato gasped as the masked man behind Taji grabbed the child, the ANBU guards dead behind him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Minato asked, drawing one of his Space-Time kunai.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Lord Hokage," the man said. "Or your precious son dies at the ripe age of one minute."

Minato and Kushina gasped, red chakra beginning to swirl around the later.

"Though I will tell you my name," the man said. "I am Madara Uchiha, one of the founding fathers of the Leaf. I have returned to destroy this village. And I will use the Nine-Tails to do it," he said, dropping the infant.

Minato quickly caught his son and got away from Madara, only to find a paper bomb in his son's blanket. Using his Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he teleported to a safehouse to escape the explosion, but was separated from his wife. Placing his son in a crib, he was about to teleport back to Kushina when a roar filled the air. "Oh no!"

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Madara looked at the heavily breathing Kushina. "Truly, your vitality is strong to survive the extraction of your tailed beast," he said before looking at the Nine-Tails.

"_**Free at last!"**_ the fox roared before seeing Madara. **_"That eye, and chakra more ominous than my own. You are Madara Uchiha!"_** it roared before Madara began brainwashing it.

"I have need of you again, Nine-Tails," Madara said as he took control of the beast. "Now, kill your former Jinchuriki."

The Nine-Tails lifted its foot to crush Kushina, though Minato appeared and saved Kushina, though he had been too late to save Biwako from Madara.

Madara looked at where Minato and Kushina had been. "No matter. Nine-Tails, go and destroy the village!"

The Nine-Tails roared and started walking toward the Leaf Village.

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Minato and Kushina looked at their son.

"Minato, we need to seal the Nine-Tails back into me," Kushina said.

Minato shook his head. "No. Madara will no doubt come after Naruto once we stop him. We should seal the fox into Naruto. It will give him an edge."

Kushina gasped and picked up Naruto. "Okay. Let's do it. Even though my every instinct as a mother is telling me not to. We'll use Mito's jutsu that she used when she sealed the Nine-Tails into herself."

Minato nodded. "Let's go."

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Kakashi looked at the Nine-Tails from a distance. "Sensei, I hope you can stop this thing."

At that moment, Minato and Kushina appeared above the Nine-Tails, Kushina using her chakra chains to restrain the beast before Minato bit his thumb and ran through hand signs, pointing his thumb at the fox.

"Summoning Jutsu!" he said, summoning a giant toad with a pipe and tanto, which landed on the Nine-Tails, pinning it down. "Bunta, hold the fox down while Kushina and I perform the sealing," Minato said as he ran through hand signs.

"Sure thing, Minato," Gamabunta said, putting all his weight on the Nine-Tails.

Minato finished the hand signs. "Alright, first the Yin chakra," he said, drawing a stream of white chakra from the Fox and channeling it into his son, whom Kushina was holding.

Once it was drained of its Yin chakra, the Nine-Tails had shrunk to half its size, and realized what was happening. _**"NO! I WON'T BE SEALED AGAIN!"**_ it roared, trying to get Gamabunta off it and break the chakra chains, but was unable to before Minato started drawing out its Yang chakra, which soon drew the Nine-Tails into the infant. _**"I WON'T FORGET THIS!"**_ it roared before disappearing behind the seal which appeared on Naruto's belly, an Eight Trigrams Tetragram seal that would allow the Fox's chakra to mingle with Naruto's in small amounts.

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Madara looked on. "I will return, Minato Namikaze. And I will have the Nine-Tails," he muttered before teleporting away.

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Minato and Kushina jumped off Gamabunta's head, the toad looking at their son.

"So that's him eh?" the chief toad asked.

Minato nodded. "Yes. Gamabunta, meet mine and Kushina's son, Naruto Namikaze."

"I look forward to seeing what he will become in the future," Gamabunta said as Naruto started crying.

"You can go home now, Bunta," Kushina said, gently rocking Naruto, trying to soothe him.

"Alright. See you later then. And congratulations," Gamabunta said before disappearing in a puff of smoke back to Mount Myoboku.

Minato and Kushina looked at Naruto, who was starting to calm down. "We'll have to tell the people. They have a right to know about what Naruto carries," Minato said.

"Minato, you know how Jinchuriki are treated," Kushina said.

"I know," Minato said. "But we have to act in the interest of the people. We won't tell Naruto until he becomes a ninja."

Kushina slowly nodded. "Okay."

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The next day, Minato stood before the council, Kushina by his side and Naruto in his arms.

"Minato, now that the people know of what your son is, they probably won't hesitate to treat him like an outcast," Jiraiya said from his spot at the wall. "They won't hurt him physically, but they won't like him either."

"I know that, Sensei. But they have a right to know," Minato said.

"You may be a hero to them, but I doubt that anyone other than those close to you will be willing to see him as a hero, like you and Kushina desire," Sarutobi said.

"We know, Hiruzen," Kushina said.

"Which is why, if the populace cannot be swayed, I will pass a law forbidding anyone from speaking of him as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki," Minato said. "Naruto himself is not to know of his demonic tenet until he becomes a ninja."

"But you won't always be around to protect him," Shikaku Nara said.

"I'll be able to come to his side in an instant if he needs help," Minato said. "As with Kushina, I incorporated the formula for my Flying Thunder God Jutsu into Naruto's seal, so that I can always come to him."

"A sound tactic for being able to help him when he needs it," Inochi Yamanaka said.

"I just hope the people are willing to see Naruto as a hero," Kushina said, taking him from Minato. "I can't stand the thought of my baby being hated for something he had no control over."

As though sensing his mother's sadness, Naruto reached for her, cooing softly, making her smile.

"Even if they don't see him as a hero, we do," Choza Akimichi said.

"Your son keeps the Nine-Tails locked away. That makes him a hero in my eyes," Tsume Inuzuka said.

"I see him in the same light," Shibi Aburame said.

"Your son and the Nine-Tails are two separate beings. I can't hold that against him," Hiashi Hyuga said.

"Nor can I," Fugaku Uchiha said.

"Naruto is your flesh and blood, Minato, and does a great service to the village by containing the Nine-Tails," Hisana Haruno said.

"Is there any other business to address?" Hiashi asked.

"No, there isn't," Sarutobi said.

"Very well. This meeting is adjourned," Hiashi said.

(13 years later)

Naruto stood in the Namikaze clan's private training ground. He had grown to greatly resemble his father, aside from whisker marks on his cheeks, and had inherited his mother's personality. Running through hand signs, he focused his chakra. "Clone Jutsu!" he said, a puff of smoke appearing, revealing a pathetic clone of him, which he kicked to get rid off. "WHY CAN'T I GET THIS JUTSU DOWN?" he yelled in frustration, drawing his father's attention, who appeared next to him with his Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

"What's wrong, son?" Minato asked.

"I can use every academy jutsu except the Clone Jutsu!" Naruto exclaimed. "Why can't I get the Clone Jutsu down?"

"I think you have trouble with it because you have a lot of chakra, but as a result, lack fine control. But I think I have a solution," Minato said.

"Really?" Naruto asked, looking at his father with a hopeful look.

"Yes. I'm going to teach you how to make Shadow Clones," Minato said.

"Shadow Clones?" Naruto asked. "Those are solid clones, right?"

"Exactly," Minato said with a proud smile.

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The next day, Naruto entered his classroom with a grin, getting surrounded by his fangirls, but he had eyes for only one girl in the room, quickly catching sight of her, one Sakura Haruno. Everything about her enchanted him, especially her broad forehead and long pink hair. He let out a happy sigh as he sat down next to his kindred spirit, Kiba Inuzuka.

"What's got you so happy?" Kiba asked, looking where Naruto was looking. "Ah. Sakura, heiress to the Haruno clan. Nice girl too. You sure can pick 'em, buddy," he said, grinning and giving Naruto a friendly elbow.

"Yeah, and she's only interested in Sasuke," Naruto said, sighing again as their instructor, Iruka Umino, entered the room.

"Alright class, today is the Genin Exam. If you pass, you'll receive a headband and the rank of Genin. I have high hopes for all of you," Iruka said, handing out the written test.

After the written test was finished, they were called into another room one by one to take the final part of the test. Eventually, Naruto's name was called, his fangirls wishing him luck. Once he entered, Iruka gave him a slight smile.

"Alright, Naruto, let's first have a demonstration of the Transformation Jutsu," Iruka said.

Naruto nodded and transformed into his father.

Iruka nodded as Naruto undid the transformation, Substitution quickly following. "Alright, now make three Clones."

Naruto made a hand sign that crossed his index and middle fingers in a cross shape. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said, making ten Shadow Clones.

"Solid clones?" Iruka asked, amazed, as was Mizuki, his fellow instructor.

"Yup! Dad taught me," Naruto said, dispelling his clones.

Iruka smiled. "Congratulations. You pass," he said, tossing Naruto a headband, who promptly replaced his goggles with it.

"Awesome!" Naruto exclaimed, leaving the room.

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After the test was over and everyone had passed, Naruto went outside with his classmates, finding his parents waiting for him. "I did it! I passed!" he exclaimed happily as he bounded over to them.

"We knew you would, Naruto. We're so proud of you!" Minato said, patting his head.

"You're your father's son alright," Kushina said with a smile.

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That night, Mizuki went to the Hokage Tower and transformed into Naruto before breaking into a room where various scrolls were kept. Finding the one he was seeking, he grabbed it and left.

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Naruto was walking home after celebrating with Kiba when some ANBU surrounded him.

"Where did you hide the scroll?" one of the asked.

"What scroll?" Naruto asked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie to us!" a second ANBU said. "You are coming with us! Let's see what your father has to say about this."

Naruto yelped and made a hand sign. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he exclaimed, making several hundred Shadow Clones and scattering with them.

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Minato stood by as Tsume sniffed the crime scene with her dog, Kuromaru. "Well?"

"This is Mizuki's scent. He must have transformed into Naruto in attempt to frame him," Tsume said.

"Dammit!" Minato muttered, jumping outside and putting his hand on the ground, sensing for his son, only to find the clones blocking him. "This will take time," he muttered before disappearing, taking out the clones one after another seeking the real one.

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Naruto stopped running to catch his breath, though he had to dodge a kunai volley.

"Not bad, demon!" Mizuki said, looking at Naruto with hatred.

"What did you call me?" Naruto asked.

"That doesn't matter, since I'm going to kill you!" Mizuki exclaimed throwing a huge shuriken at Naruto.

Naruto yelped, remembering something.

(flashback)

Minato showed Naruto the Nine-Tails seal. "This is the formula for my Flying Thunder God Jutsu. If you ever need me, channel some chakra to it, and I'll know where you are, and I'll come."

"Sure thing, dad!" Naruto said.

(end flashback)

Naruto quickly made a hand sign and channeled chakra to the seal. **"Dad help me!"** he thought desperately before feeling arms wrap around him and get him out of the shuriken's path. Looking up, he saw his father's concerned face.

"Are you alright, Naruto?" Minato asked.

Naruto, suddenly unable to speak, just nodded.

Minato set him down and threw one of his Space-Time kunai at Mizuki, who dodged it, only to find Minato behind him.

Mizuki dodged a punch and kicked at Minato, who caught it and threw Mizuki away while grabbing the scroll. Mizuki fled, not noticing a mark on his foot.

Minato jumped down and handed the scroll to Naruto, who had by that time, gotten rid of his clones. "Hold onto this for me, and wait here for me."

Naruto nodded.

Mizuki ran into the streets, where people did give him much of a glance, until Minato appeared behind Mizuki, one of his kunai to the man's throat, and a cold look on his face.

"Mizuki, you will die here," Minato said coldly.

"The Hokage killing one of his own comrades? That won't look too good politically," Mizuki said.

"At what point did I claim I was striking you down in my capacity as Hokage?" Minato asked, making Mizuki gasp. "To justify my actions I need only one reason. You dared to try framing my son for your crime." With that, Minato took Mizuki's life. "Burn the body, I don't want to see it ever again," he said, putting his kunai away before returning to Naruto, whom Kushina had reached.

"It's over. He won't cause anymore trouble," Minato said, taking the scroll and handing to an ANBU th return to the tower.

"Mom, dad, he called me a demon," Naruto said. "Why did he call me that?"

"We were going to tell you when you got home, but I guess we have to do it here," Kushina said sadly.

Minato also had a sad look. "Naruto, the night you were born, we had to seal the Nine Tailed Fox into you to save the village."

Naruto gasped, standing up and walking over to Minato.

"We understand that you'd be upset," Minato said before Naruto punched him in the gut, rather hard.

"How could you seal the Nine-Tails into your own son?" Naruto demanded, tears pouring down his face.

"Please understand," Kushina pleaded. "We couldn't ask another parent to give up their child, so we used our own."

"We did it to protect you, son," Minato said. "I made a lot of enemies during the last war. If they found you, they might try to kill you to have indirect revenge on me."

Kushina pulled Naruto into her arms. "Naruto, we love you more than anything. The only way to overcome the Nine-Tails' hatred is to fill its Jinchuriki with love."

Naruto returned Kushina's hug, quietly sobbing while Minato joined the hug. Nothing more needed to be said as the parents let their only son cry out all his frustration.

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The first chapter, done. I hope you enjoy this fic. Until next time, I bid you all a most respectful farewell.


	2. Chapter 2

Adventures of Naruto Namikaze

Last time, Naruto graduated from the academy, and Mizuki tried to frame him for his theft of the Scroll of Seals, a mistake that cost him his life when Minato got a hold of him. The result was Naruto learning of the Nine-Tails presence in his body, which caused him to break down in his parents' arms, crying out his frustrations. Let's see what happens next.

**Legal stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

Naruto woke up and yawned, looking around, seeing his room. He had fallen asleep in his parents' arms after crying out his frustration about the Nine-Tails. Getting out of bed, Naruto got dressed and went to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Good morning, Naruto. How are you feeling?" Kushina asked, setting some food in front of him as he sat down.

"We understand if you're still upset," Minato said.

Naruto looked at his parents and smiled. "No. I'm fine. Got it all out last night. Now that I think about it, you protected me from the Nine-Tails by filling me with love. So, I'm glad you're my parents. And since I'm the Hokage's son, it'd hurt dad politically if I lost control, so I'll be the best Jinchuriki I can be!"

Minato and Kushina sighed in relief. "We're happy to hear that, son," Minato said. "Now eat up, you have to go to the academy for squad assignments," he said, ruffling Naruto's hair.

"Who's on my team?" Naruto asked. "I hope I get to be on a team with Sakura-chan!"

Minato smiled. "Just wait for Iruka to tell you."

"Sounds like you've got a crush on this Sakura girl," Kushina said, smiling.

Naruto blushed. "W-Well, she's a nice girl, and she's really pretty."

"Does she like you?" Minato asked.

Naruto looked down at that. "She's more interested in Sasuke. Why can't she be one of my fans?"

"That just means you have to work for her," Minato said. "The ones you have to work for are worth it."

Naruto instantly brightened up. "Thanks, dad. I'll work my butt off to impress her!"

"We know you will, son," Kushina said as Minato pulled out a book and handed it to Naruto.

"What's this?" Naruto asked.

"Jiraiya-sensei's first book," Minato said. "It didn't sell very well, but your mother and I enjoyed it so much that we named you after the hero in the story."

"Pervy Sage wrote this?" Naruto asked, looking at the title, Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi

Minato and Kushina laughed, thinking Naruto's nickname for Jiraiya both very fitting and very funny.

"Yes, he did," Minato said. "That book is your graduation present. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

"If you and mom like it, I bet I will too!" Naruto said, putting the book away and finishing his breakfast. "See you later!" Naruto called as he left, heading toward the academy.

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Naruto was immediately accosted by his fangirls, who wanted to sit with him, two in particular, Ami and Yumi, each grabbing one of his arms.

"Back off, Yumi! I'm sitting with Naruto-kun!" Ami said.

"In your dreams, Ami! I'm sitting with Naruto-kun!" Yumi said, the two girls going into tug of war with poor Naruto as the rope.

By the time Kiba got him away from his ravenous fangirls, Naruto was dizzy and aching in the shoulders.

"These fangirls are going to kill me!" Naruto said, sitting behind Sasuke.

"We're pretty much in the same boat there, Naruto," Sasuke said.

Naruto sighed. "Too bad Sakura-chan is interested in you instead of me."

"I can help you out with that. I'm not interested in her. You can have her," Sasuke said as Sakura came up.

"Sasuke-kun, do you mind if I sit with you?" Sakura asked.

"Go sit with Naruto, shallow little failure of a kunoichi," Sasuke said coldly.

"What did you say, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "Sakura-chan isn't a failure!"

Sakura was shocked. Her crush had just belittled her, and the one she thought was annoying had stood up for her. "Fine," she said, sitting next to Naruto, drawing glares from his fangirls.

"I don't think you're weak, Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a smile.

"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura said as Iruka entered and started announcing teams.

"Team 7: Naruto Namikaze, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka said.

Naruto was overjoyed to be on a team with Sakura.

Sakura was glad to be teamed up with Naruto, since he stood up for her, but not at being teamed with Sasuke.

"Just don't get in my way," Sasuke said.

After announcing the rest of the teams, Iruka left, and the Jonin instructors arrived one by one to pick up their students, soon leaving Team 7 waiting for theirs.

"Where is our sensei?" Sakura asked after two hours.

"Guess dad stuck us with Kakashi Hatake," Naruto said, reading his new book.

"Kakashi Hatake?" Sakura asked.

Naruto nodded.

"What makes you think he's our sensei?" Sasuke asked.

"The fact that he's two hours late," Naruto said. "Kakashi is always late. He should be here in another hour."

True enough, an hour later, the door opened to reveal a man with spiky, gravity defying silver hair, a mask that covered all but his eyes, and his headband covering his left eye, dressed in the standard Leaf Ninja uniform.

"Late as usual, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said.

"Never thought I'd end up training my sensei's son," Kakashi said. "But I'm honored that he trusted me with you, Naruto. Now then, come with me to the roof, you three."

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"Alright, let's start with introductions," Kakashi said. "I'll go first. I'm Kakashi Hatake. My likes and dislikes, not worth mentioning. Hobbies, I have many hobbies. Dreams for the future, I don't feel like telling you."

"Your only hobby is reading those pervy books that Pervy Sage is always writing," Naruto said.

"And yet you're reading one of his books," Kakashi said. "One of the Make Out books?"

"Hell no! Mom would skin me alive if I did!" Naruto exclaimed. "This is his first book, that didn't sell very well. Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi."

"Wait, you know Jiraiya of the Sannin?" Sakura asked.

"Yup! Pervy Sage is my godfather," Naruto said.

"Your godfather?" Sakura asked in amazement. "Why do you call him Pervy Sage?" Sakura asked. "It's not very respectful."

"Cause he's a sage and a mega pervert," Naruto said. "Bet he's at the hot springs peeping on women right now."

"Anyway, Naruto, introduce yourself," Kakashi said.

Naruto nodded. "I'm Naruto Namikaze. My likes are my parents, my mom's cooking, especially her ramen, and I especially like a certain someone. My dislikes are perverts, and people who judge others before getting to know them. Hobbies, reading my new book, comparing different types of ramen. And my dream is to surpass my old man and become Hokage!"

Kakashi gave him one of his eye smiles. "That's quite the dream," he said, before looking at Sakura. "Alright, pinkete, you're up."

Sakura scowled at the nickname. "My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are my family, and a certain someone. My dislikes are perverts, cold bastards, my huge forehead, and my weird pink hair. My dream is to become a stronger kunoichi than my grandmother, Hisana Haruno."

Kakashi nodded before looking at Sasuke. "Alright, now the emo kid."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like much of anything. There are plenty of things I dislike. And what I have is not a dream, because I will make it reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone," Sasuke said coldly.

"Okay," Kakashi drawled. "Alright, meet me at training ground three tomorrow at 7:00 AM sharp. And don't eat breakfast. You'll just puke it up." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"See you two later," Sasuke said, leaving as well.

"Later, Naruto," Sakura standing to leave.

"Wait, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said, getting the girl's attention. "Why don't you like your hair and forehead?"

"My forehead is bigger than normal, and I'm the only person in this village with pink hair. It's weird," Sakura said.

Naruto shook his head. "I think they're pretty."

Sakura blushed. "You, really mean that?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah! Your forehead is so wide and charming. Makes me want to kiss it. And when I first saw you, the first thing I noticed was your beautiful pink hair."

"Beautiful?" Sakura asked, her blush inventing a few new shades of red.

"Yeah! You're the prettiest girl I know," Naruto said.

"Naruto, that's so sweet of you," Sakura said, smiling at him.

Naruto smiled back as he stood up, putting his book away. "You uh, mind if I, walk you home?"

"I'd like that," Sakura said.

Naruto grinned. "Let's go then."

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A bit too soon for Naruto's taste, they arrived at Sakura's home in the Haruno compound.

"Thanks for walking me home, Naruto," Sakura said.

"My pleasure, Sakura-chan," Naruto said.

Sakura caught Naruto off guard by grabbing his face and kissing him on the cheek, making him blush darkly. "See you tomorrow," she said.

"See ya," Naruto said, drunk on pure bliss as he walked off, a bit dizzy.

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Naruto was still dizzy when he entered his house. "I'm home!" he called before stumbling into the kitchen.

"Welcome home, honey," Kushina said as Naruto sat down.

"Thanks, mom," Naruto said, letting out a happy sigh.

"Something good happen with Sakura?" Kushina asked.

Naruto nodded. "She said she didn't like her hair and forehead, so I told her I think they're beautiful."

"How did she react?" Kushina asked.

"She said it was really sweet and even let me walk her home," Naruto said. "And before I left when we got there, she gave me a kiss on the cheek," he said, sighing happily again. "I'll never wash this cheek again."

"So, what do you think of your other teammate?" Kushina asked.

"Sasuke needs to pull that stick out of his butt," Naruto said. "And why did dad stick us with Kakashi-sensei? He knows that the man's always late."

"I'm sure you'll realize your father's reasons in time," Kushina said.

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The next day, Sakura arrived to find only Sasuke. "Where's Naruto?" she asked.

"Don't know," Sasuke said.

Naruto turned up about three hours later.

"Where have you been, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

Naruto didn't answer, instead holding up three fingers, counting down. Once they were all withdrawn...

"Yo!" Kakashi said.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura yelled.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life," Kakashi said. "Anyway, let's get started with your test."

"What test?" Sasuke asked. "We already became Genin."

"That was just a test to see who had the ability to become Genin," Kakashi said. "Out of all the graduating students, only about nine will become Genin. The rest will go back to the academy."

"So what's the test?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi held up a couple of bells. "Your objective is simple. Take these bells from me. You have until noon. If you don't get a bell, then you don't get lunch, in addition, you'll be tied to one of those posts while I eat my lunch in front of you."

"But there are only two bells. So one of us will get tied to a post anyway," Sasuke said.

"Correct," Kakashi said. "You can use any means to get the bells, including shuriken. If you're not prepared to kill me, you won't be able to get the bells."

The Genin nodded, getting ready.

Kakashi put the bells on his waist. "Begin!"

The Genin scattered and hid themselves.

"Guys, he's trying to turn us against each other," Naruto whispered.

"What do you mean, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"The goal of the test is to show our ability to work as a team," Naruto said. "And we've got an advantage. Since my dad trained this guy, I know a lot of his tricks."

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Kakashi waited for them to attack, pulling out a book. "Well, they're probably not a big enough threat to put me on my toes," he muttered before a shuriken came flying at him, which he effortlessly dodged, only to hear a puff of smoke behind him, Naruto grabbing him before he could react.

"Let's go!" Naruto called as he, Sasuke, and Sakura attacked Kakashi while the Shadow Clone held him.

Sasuke ran through hand signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" he said, blowing out a fireball at Kakashi.

Naruto ran through hand signs as well. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" he said, blowing a gust of wind at the fireball, making it larger and enhancing it.

Kakashi gasped. "Collaboration jutsu?" he asked before the fireball engulfed him.

"Did we get him?" Sakura asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No, he substituted himself with my Shadow Clone."

"How do you know?" Sakura asked.

"Everything my clones experience is transferred to me when they're dispelled," Naruto said.

Kakashi breathed hard. "Well, they've got teamwork going for them," he muttered, putting his book away before revealing himself. "Not bad. You surprised me with your use of a collaboration jutsu," he said before he felt a great pain in his ass.

"Leaf Village Secret Finger Jutsu: A Thousand Years of Death!" Naruto exclaimed, sending Kakashi flying with some chakra from the fingers he had stuck up Kakashi's ass.

As Kakashi was flying, Sasuke and Sakura jumped up and grabbed the bells.

"Alright, we got the bells, you can pass us now, Sensei," Sakura said.

"And what about Naruto?" Kakashi asked. "He didn't get a bell."

"The bells were never the point of the test," Naruto said.

"You were testing our teamwork," Sasuke said.

Kakashi stood up a bit awkwardly as he eye smiled. "And you passed with flying colors."

"Alright!" Naruto exclaimed, hugging both his teammates around their necks.

"Get off," Sasuke said, getting away from Naruto, Sakura however, shared in Naruto's joy and returned his one armed hug.

"Alright, Team 7 has its first mission tomorrow," Kakashi said, disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, you guys want to come to my place to celebrate?" Naruto asked.

"No. I need to train," Sasuke said, leaving as well.

"I'd like that, Naruto," Sakura said. "I'm curious about what kind of house you live in."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura smiled as she and Naruto approached the Namikaze home.

"You're gonna love mom's cooking, Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he held the door for her.

"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura said.

"Mom, I'm home!" Naruto called. "And I brought a friend!"

"Welcome home," Kushina said, coming into the living room.

Sakura gasped at the sight of Kushina, envious of her beauty.

"_NARUTO-KUN'S MOM IS AN ABSOLUTE GODDESS!"_ Inner Sakura screamed.

Kushina smiled at Sakura. "Is this her, Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup! Sakura-chan, meet Kushina Namikaze. Mom, meet Sakura Haruno."

Sakura bowed. "It's really nice to meet you, Lady Kushina."

Kushina chuckled. "Just Kushina, please. You're a guest in my home."

Sakura stood and nodded. "Okay, Kushina," she said before seeing a three pronged kunai with markings on its hilt hanging from a hook on the wall. "Is that?"

Naruto looked where she was looking and nodded. "Yup! One of dad's special kunai."

Sakura walked over to it. "One of Lord Hokage's Space-Time kunai. Never thought I'd see one up close," she muttered before said Hokage appeared in front of her. Sakura yelped as she fell on her butt.

Minato looked at her. "Sorry about that," he said, offering her a hand up.

Sakura accepted the hand and stood up. "Wow! Naruto looks just like you."

Minato chuckled. "Yeah, he does, but he got his mom's personality."

Sakura blushed a bit. "I must be dreaming. I'm standing in the Hokage's home, having a casual conversation with him and his absolute goddess of a wife!"

Kushina smiled. "Thank you, you're a sweet girl,"

Minato laughed. "You're not dreaming. You're really here. And yes, Kushina is very beautiful."

"Anyway, I brought her with me so we could celebrate passing Kakashi-sensei's test," Naruto said.

"Congratulations, son. I knew you'd pass little Kakashi's test. You're the first ones to pass his test, actually," Minato said.

"Really?" Sakura asked.

"Yup. You're the first ones to figure out Kakashi's bell test," Minato said.

"I'll get dinner started," Kushina said, going into the kitchen.

"I'll be right back, Naruto," Sakura said, following Kushina. "Kushina, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can," Kushina said.

"Well, How did you fall in love with Lord Hokage?" Sakura asked nervously.

Kushina smiled at the memory. "I used to be like you, not liking my hair."

"Wait, how did you know I don't like my hair?" Sakura asked.

"Naruto mentioned it. He's always talking about you. He thinks the world of you," Kushina said, making Sakura blush. "Anyway, when I was a kid, me and Minato were classmates at the academy. At the time, I had a face that with my hair, looked like a tomato, and when I said I wanted to be the first female Hokage, I was mocked and called Tomato. I lashed out and beat them up. And that made them call me the Red Hot Blooded Habanero."

"That's where your nickname came from?" Sakura asked.

Kushina nodded. "Yup. And when Minato said he wanted to be acknowledged as a great Hokage, I laughed at him, thinking he was a wimp. Then we became ninja, and at some point, a group of Cloud ninja kidnapped me for my special chakra. I left a trail of my hair that only Minato picked up. When he rescued me, he said he noticed my beautiful red hair right away. He had proven himself to be anything but a wimp, and complimented what I hated most about myself. After that, I just... fell in love with him."

"That's so sweet," Sakura said.

"Yeah, it is. So don't hate your hair and forehead," Kushina said. "Sooner or later, they'll bring you your true love. Or maybe they already have."

Sakura blushed. "What do you mean?"

Kushina smiled at her. "It's not my place to say. But I can tell you this much. Someone I know loves you very much. I'm sure of that."

"Who is it?" Sakura asked.

"You'll find out when he tells you," Kushina said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

While Sakura was talking to Kushina, Naruto was out on the training field with Minato.

"Hey, dad?" Naruto asked.

"What is it, son?" Minato asked.

"Can you teach me the Flying Thunder God Jutsu?" Naruto asked.

Minato smiled. "Not yet. I'll teach it to you when you're ready for it."

"Aw man! I really want to learn it now that I'm a ninja," Naruto said, pouting in disappointment.

"Well, there is a jutsu I can teach you," Minato said, biting his thumb and running through hand signs before slamming his palm on the ground, a summoning array spreading from it. "Summoning Jutsu!" he said, a large toad appearing beneath him in a puff of smoke.

"Gama!" Naruto exclaimed, happy to see the toad.

Minato got off Gama's back as Gama opened his mouth and handed Minato a large scroll that was held in his tongue. "This is the Toad Summoning Contract, Naruto," he said, setting it on the ground and opening it.

Naruto looked at the names on it. "You and Pervy Sage have both signed this. You're really letting me sign it?" he asked.

Minato nodded. "Yup. Sign it in your own blood, then press your fingerprints in the space beneath your name."

Naruto nodded and bit his thumb hard enough to draw blood and signed his name next to his father's before pressing the fingerprints.

"Alright. Now you can summon the toads. Try it out," Minato said, running Naruto through the hand signs. "Just remember, before you can summon, you need to bring some blood to the hand you signed the contract with. And though the amount of blood needed each time is small, the amount of chakra needed depends on the size of the toad you want to summon."

Naruto nodded and ran through the hand signs before slamming his palm on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" he said, a puff of smoke appearing. Naruto's hopeful look became one of disappointment when he saw that he had only succeeded in summoning a tadpole. "Aw man! Just a tadpole?"

"It's alright. When I first signed the contract, a tadpole was all I got on the first try too," Minato said, patting Naruto's head. "You'll get better."

Naruto brightened up immediately, trying the jutsu again.

"Yo," the small, red toad in a jacket said.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked, looking at the toad weird before registering its ability to speak. "Whoa! This one can talk!"

"Of course I can talk!" the toad said. "Name's Gamakichi."

"Nice to meet you, Gamakichi!" Naruto said. "I'm Naruto Namikaze!"

"Namikaze? Are you related to Minato Namikaze? Dad's always talking about him," Gamakichi said.

"Yup. He's my dad!" Naruto said, gesturing to his father.

Gamakichi turned to Minato. "You're Minato Namikaze?"

Minato nodded. "Yeah. Glad that Bunta's told his kids about me."

Gamakichi looked between the father and son. "Yeah, I see the resemblance," he said before Naruto picked him up. "Hey hey! Put me down!" he exclaimed before getting set on Naruto's head.

"Come on, Gamakichi! I'll introduce you to mom and Sakura-chan!" Naruto said happily.

"Sure," Gamakichi said as Naruto went into the house with him still on his head.

"Hey, mom, Sakura-chan! Check this out!" Naruto exclaimed as he entered the kitchen. "Dad let me sign the Toad Contract!"

"Really?" Kushina asked, smiling at Naruto.

"Summoning?" Sakura asked before seeing Gamakichi, and screaming. "WHAT IS THAT THING ON YOUR HEAD?"

"Hey! Who're you calling a thing, you little hussy?" Gamakichi asked indignantly. "My name is Gamakichi, and I'm the son of the Chief Toad Gamabunta!"

Sakura did not hear more than his name since she intended to carve the poor toad's name on a gravestone as she slowly approached Naruto, reaching for Gamakichi while leaking murderous intent, only for a chain to stop her hand.

"Now now, we don't need to explain to Bunta that his son was killed," Kushina said, the chakra chain sticking out her back since her hands were preoccupied with cooking.

Sakura stared at the chakra chain. "What is that?" she asked, forgetting her anger at Gamakichi.

"Mom's chakra chains," Naruto said as Kushina released Sakura, dispersing the chakra.

"Amazing," Sakura said as Naruto showed Gamakichi to Kushina.

"Thank you, Sakura," Kushina said, patting Gamakichi's head before having him go back to Mount Myoboku.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura gave a happy sigh as she finished eating. "Your cooking is delicious, Kushina."

"Thank you, Sakura," Kushina said with a smile.

"Told ya you'd like mom's cooking, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said happily, patting his belly.

"So, Sakura, Kakashi mentioned that you want to become stronger than Hisana," Minato said.

Sakura blushed a bit. "Yeah. I always looked up to her. So I want to surpass her and become an even greater kunoichi than she was."

Minato smiled. "A worthwhile dream. I'll tell you what I told Naruto when he told me he wanted to be Hokage. As long as you believe in your dream, and never give up. One day you'll realize that dream."

Sakura blushed a bit darker. "Thanks, Lord Hokage."

Minato chuckled. "Sakura, you're one of my son's friends. When you're a guest in our home, we're on first name terms. Okay?"

Sakura nodded. "Okay... Minato," she said before noticing the time. "I need to head home. Thanks for dinner."

"You're quite welcome, Sakura," Kushina said with a smile.

Naruto made a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said, making several Shadow Clones. "You guys help mom out while I walk Sakura-chan home."

"Hey, why do you get to walk Sakura-chan home?" one of the clones asked.

"Cause I'm the real Naruto. And I'm sure Sakura-chan would rather have the real me walk her home than a Shadow Clone," Naruto said smugly.

Minato chuckled at the argument between his son and the clone.

"It was nice meeting both of you, Minato, Kushina," Sakura said, bowing after standing.

"Too you as well, Sakura," Minato said.

"I'll be back, mom, dad," Naruto said as he and Sakura headed toward the door.

Kushina smiled before setting the clones to work. "I can see why he loves her," she whispered to Minato.

Minato nodded. "Yeah. She's kind of like you were at that age. Looks like Naruto inherited my taste in women."

"They make such a cute couple," Kushina said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura smiled at Naruto when they reached her house. "Thanks for walking me home."

"No problem, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, grinning, and deciding to take the plunge. "Uh, Sakura-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"Would you uh, go on a date with me?" Naruto asked.

Sakura smiled and grabbed his face, kissing him on the cheek.

Naruto blushed. "Is that a yes?"

Sakura pulled away with a blush. "It's a definite maybe."

"Awesome!" Naruto said. "I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, turning to leave.

"Bye, Naruto," Sakura said, watching him leave. **"He's so different from Sasuke. Sasuke's cold, uncaring. But Naruto, he's sweet, kind, fun to be around. And he's just so cute. Cute? Where did that come from?"** she thought.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was feeling rather giddy when he returned home. "I'm home!" he called.

"Welcome home, Naruto," Kushina said as Naruto joined his parents in the living room.

"You look happy, Naruto," Minato said.

"I asked Sakura-chan out, and she kissed me on the cheek. Said it was a definite maybe!" Naruto said happily. "She might say yes!"

"That's great, son," Minato said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 2, finished. I hope you enjoyed seeing Kakashi on the receiving end of A Thousand Years of Death. Until next time, I bid you all a most respectful farewell.


	3. Chapter 3

Adventures of Naruto Namikaze

Last time, Naruto resolved to be the best Jinchuriki he could be to avoid making his dad look bad politically, and was thrilled to be on a team with Sakura, managing to earn major brownie points with her in one day, and getting even more the next day after the bell test and celebrating success with his parents, inviting her along, and walking her home afterward. And he might be in for a date with her in the future. Let's see what happens next.

**Legal Stuff: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Just my fics and ocs.**

The forest was very calm as Naruto hid in a bush, a voice coming over his radio.

"Sasuke, I'm at point B," Sasuke said.

"Sakura, I'm at point C," Sakura said.

"Naruto, I'm at point A," Naruto said.

"Okay, Squad 7," Kakashi said as something in the woods moved. "Target is on the move! After it!"

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura silently moved closer to the target.

"What's your distance from the target?" Kakashi asked.

"Five meters," Naruto said. "Ready when you are."

"I'm ready too," Sasuke said.

"Same here," Sakura said.

"Okay. Now!" Kakashi said.

The three Genin jumped the target, which was a cat, Naruto grabbing it.

"Got it!" Naruto said as the cat screamed and clawed at him. "Ow ow ow ow!" he exclaimed, holding the vicious furball at arms length.

"Can you verify a red ribbon on the right ear?" Kakashi asked.

"Yup. It's the one alright," Sakura said, giggling at the sight of Naruto getting mauled by the cat.

"Right. Lost pet Tora captured. Mission accomplished," Kakashi said.

"CAN'T WE GET A BETTER MISSION THAN THIS? I HATE CATS!" Naruto screeched into Kakashi's ear, making it ring.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the mission hall, Tora was reunited with his owner, the Fire Daimyo's wife.

"Oh my precious Tora! Mommy was so worried about you, you naughty little kitty!" Madam Shijimi exclaimed while hugging the crying Tora.

"Hahaha! Stupid cat deserves to get squashed!" Naruto said, laughing at Tora.

"If I was in that cat's place I'd have run away too," Sakura said.

"Okay, for Squad 7's next mission we have several available tasks," Minato said, looking over the list. "Let's see. Babysitting the chief councilor's three year old, helping his wife with her shopping, harvesting potatoes..."

"Noooo!" Naruto exclaimed. "I want to go on a real mission! Something challenging and exciting! Not this little kid stuff! Come on, dad!"

"**He's got a point,"** Sasuke thought.

"**Yeah. I want something more challenging too,"** Sakura thought.

"**I knew this was coming,"** Kakashi thought.

"How dare you! You're just a brand new Genin with no experience! Like everyone else you start with simple missions to build your experience and prove yourself!" Iruka exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Naruto asked. "Babysitting is a job anyone can do! You don't need to hire ninja for that!" he exclaimed before Kakashi bonked him on the head.

"Will you put a lid on it?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto, you don't seem to understand these tasks you're given," Minato said, remaining calm even in the face of his son's behavior.

Naruto looked at Minato, a confused look on his face.

"Many different requests come into the village every day. Everything from babysitting to assassination," Minato said. "These requests are very carefully documented and ranked according to difficulty in the ranks of A, B, C, D, and S. With D being the easiest, and S being the most difficult. Shinobi have a similar ranking system. Kage at the top, and in descending order, Jonin, Chunin, and Genin. These missions are assigned to the ninja with the appropriate knowledge and experience. And if the mission is successful, we receive payment for our work, which is the main source of our village's income. You're untried Genin just starting down the shinobi path. Naturally, you're given D-rank missions," he explained.

Naruto groaned. "Dad, I'm not a little kid anymore! I'm a ninja now, and I want a ninja mission!"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm going to be hearing about this later."

Minato stared at Naruto for a moment before chuckling. "Alright, son. You win," he said, surprising everyone present. "Since you're so determined, I'll give you a C-rank mission. You'll be bodyguards on a journey."

"Wow! Who are we guarding? A princess? Or a big celebrity?" Naruto asked.

"Patience, Naruto," Minato said. "Send him in."

The door opened to reveal an elderly man with gray hair holding a bottle of alcohol.

"What? A bunch of snot nosed kids?" the man asked, taking a long pull from his beer bottle, a slight blush on his face indicating that he nearing intoxication. "And you, the blond one. Am I really supposed to believe that you're a ninja?"

Naruto scowled. "I'll kill you!" he yelled, trying to run at the man, only to be held in place by Kakashi.

Minato chuckled. "You can't kill the client, son. It doesn't work that way."

The man looked at Minato. "That kid's your boy?" he asked in disbelief.

Minato nodded. "Yup. That's my son, Naruto Namikaze. And the one holding him back was once my student. I assure you you're in good hands."

The man looked at Squad 7, Naruto having stopped struggling in favor of grinning at his father's indirect praise. "Alright. My name is Tazuna. I'm a bridge builder by trade. And I need to return to my country, where I'm building a bridge that will change our world. I expect you to get me there safely even at the cost of your lives."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto was grinning as he stood before the village gate with his squad and Tazuna. "This is so awesome! I'm leaving the village for the first time!" he exclaimed as Minato appeared beside him. "What is it, dad?"

Minato knelt down in front of Naruto. "I came to see you off. And I have a gift for you," he said, pulling out a pair trench knives. "A gift from Asuma. They're made from a special metal that absorbs the characteristics of the user's chakra. Use them well, and remember what I taught you about wind chakra."

Naruto nodded as he put the knives in his hip pouch. "I will. I'll make you proud dad."

Minato smiled. "I know you will. You're my son after all."

Sakura smiled at the moment between father and son.

Naruto grinned. "Let's go, guys!"

Minato smiled as he watched the squad leave the village.

"Lord Hokage, are you sure about this?" Kotetsu asked. "There's no telling what kind of danger your son will end up in."

Minato just glanced at him. "I wouldn't be a very good parent if I didn't have faith in my own kid."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Mr. Tazuna?" Sakura asked.

"What is it?" Tazuna asked.

"You're from the Land of Waves, right?" Sakura asked.

"What of it?" Tazuna asked.

"Kakashi-sensei, aren't there ninja in the Land of Waves too?" Sakura asked.

"No, there aren't," Kakashi said. "But there are hidden villages in other countries. The most prominent of these are the Five Great Nations. These five nations are the Lands of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning. The Land of Fire is home to our village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Land of Water: The Village Hidden in the Mist, the Land of Earth: The Village Hidden in the Stones, the Land of Wind: The Village Hidden in the Sand, and the Land of Lightning: The Village Hidden in the Clouds. Only the leaders of these five villages are permitted the title of Kage. Hokage, Mizukage, Kazekage, Raikage, and Tsuchikage. These five people reign over thousands of shinobi," he explained.

"So we might get to fight foreign ninja!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Not likely. Shinobi battles are rare in a C-rank mission," Kakashi said.

"Aw man!" Naruto groaned.

After a while, the group passed by a couple of puddles, which Kakashi glanced at for a moment. Once they passed the puddles, two men rose from them, their gauntlets connected by a shuriken chain. Quick as a flash, they wrapped Kakashi in it and tore him to shreds.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed as the two ninja turned to them, their headbands bearing the symbol of the Mist Village.

"Now it's your turn," the one with the Right Gauntlet said as they move to wrap up Sakura.

Sasuke leapt into action and pinned the chain to a tree with a shuriken and kunai, forcing the ninja to abandon it. The one with the left gauntlet went after Sasuke, while the one with the right went after Tazuna. The right one was surprised to find Sakura blocking his attack, but no wound on her arm.

"What the?" he muttered.

"Steel Style: Ultimate Shield!" Sakura said as she forced him away, revealing her arms to have turned dark black, her nails extending into short claws. "Bring it on," she said. **"Gotta be careful. I may have a lot of chakra for my age, even among a clan famous for our large chakra reserves, but I don't have the reserves needed to armor my entire body for prolonged periods of time yet,"** she thought as the ninja attacked again.

Naruto gritted his teeth as he and Sasuke fought the left one, channeling his wind chakra into his new knives and slashing at the enemy, missing and carving a deep gash in a tree. Cocking his arm back to throw one, he noticed Sakura about to be overwhelmed, which made him see red. "No!" he snarled, throwing the knife with all his strength, which embedded it in the ninja's head, killing him.

"Gozu!" the other one yelled before Kakashi appeared and knocked him out, revealing that he had escaped with substitution.

"Kakashi-sensei, you're alive!" Sakura exclaimed, undoing her jutsu.

"Nicely done, you three," Kakashi said, looking at Naruto, who was staring at the corpse of the one called Gozu. **"He's shaken up from making his first kill. I'll need to talk to him about it later,"** he thought. "Tazuna, we need to talk."

After hearing Tazuna's story about his country's plight, they decided to continue the mission after tieing up Gozu's brother, who was called Mezu, and leaving him for the Tracker Ninja, setting up camp for the night after sunset.

"Naruto, I need to talk to you," Kakashi said while the others went to bed.

Naruto joined Kakashi by the fire. "What is it, sensei?"

"You made your first kill today. You're shaken up about it, aren't you?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto looked at the fire. "Kinda. At the time, the only thing on my mind was protecting Sakura-chan."

"Do you regret killing him?" Kakashi asked.

"Yeah, but if I hadn't killed him, he'd have killed Sakura-chan, and Mr. Tazuna. Tazuna's our client, so we have to protect him, but..." Naruto hesitated.

"What is it?" Kakashi asked.

"I can't stand the thought of losing Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. "When I saw him about to overpower her, I just felt so angry. Angry that he would try to hurt her. Sakura-chan means so much to me! I never want to see her get hurt! If I can help it, then I'll protect her from anyone that tries to hurt her!"

Kakashi eye smiled. "Then I trust you won't freeze up."

"No way! I never go back on my word!" Naruto said.

Unknown to Naruto and Kakashi, Sakura was lieing awake in her bedroll and had heard every word of their conversation and was currently blushing up a storm.

"**Naruto, I never knew you cared so much about me,"** She thought.

"_I doubt the same can be said of Sasuke,"_ Inner Sakura said.

"**No, it can't,"** Sakura thought. **"Naruto's definitely a one of a kind boy."**

"_We should say yes to his date request,"_ Inner Sakura said.

Sakura smiled. **"Yeah, we should,"** she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The next day, they continued toward their destination, getting to the Land of Waves without further incident.

"My house isn't much farther," Tazuna said before Naruto threw a kunai into a bush.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"We're being followed," Naruto said, going over to the bush holding another kunai, finding a white rabbit where his kunai hit.

"Naruto! You hit a rabbit!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Wait," Sasuke said. "This time of year that rabbit should have brown fur. But it's white, meaning it was raised indoors."

Kakashi nodded. "It was used for substitution," he said as a whistling sound filled the air.

"Get down!" Naruto exclaimed, everyone ducking in time to avoid getting decapitated by a huge sword, which embedded itself in a tree trunk.

"Not bad, kid. You've got potential," a man said as he dropped onto the blade's hilt, his face covered by bandages, a Mist headband on his head, camouflage pants, and a bare chest aside from the straps that no doubt secured his sword when it wasn't in use.

Naruto growled. "Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist."

Zabuza chuckled. "A Genin knows who I am on sight. Impressive. I wonder how you got access to a bingo book."

"My father let me look through his," Naruto said, drawing his trench knives.

"What's your name, boy?" Zabuza asked. "Cause you look very similar to the Yellow Flash of the Leaf."

"No surprise," Naruto said. "I'm his son."

Zabuza's eyes widened. "You're the son of the Yellow Flash?"

Naruto's grinned. "Yup. I'm Naruto Namikaze; son of the fourth Hokage: Minato Namikaze."

Zabuza laughed. "The Copy Ninja: Kakashi Hatake, and the son of the Yellow Flash of the Leaf. This is going to be interesting," he said as he removed his blade from the tree trunk and landed on the ground.

"Beast Wave Palm!" Naruto said, swinging his arm in front of him, sending a blade of wind chakra flying at Zabuza.

Zabuza blocked it with his blade, though it managed to cut halfway through the blade. "Well... a wind user. Those are rare indeed. And to be able to cut such a nick into Kubikiribocho's blade, is impressive."

"Manji Formation! Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi said, uncovering his Sharingan.

Sasuke gasped. "How do you have Sharingan?" he asked.

"Sasuke, how do you think he got the nickname "Copy Ninja"?" Naruto asked as he, Sasuke, and Sakura got into a protective formation in front of Tazuna, Naruto at the front, Sasuke to his left, and Sakura to his right.

"Shut up, Dead Last," Sasuke said.

"Leave him to me," Kakashi said as he brandished his kunai and charged Zabuza, stabbing him, only for the Water Clone to fall apart into a puddle.

Zabuza appeared behind him in the mist and sliced him in half, only to find that it was a water clone. He gasped as he heard a kunai flying toward his head. Dodging, he moved onto the water, followed by Kakashi, who after a brief exchange, got knocked into the water. Zabuza was quick to trap him in a Water Prison, making a Water Clone to fight in his stead.

"Get away from here! Protect Tazuna!" Kakashi exclaimed. "Water Clones can only go so far from their maker!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "No way, sensei! We're not leaving you behind!"

"You taught us that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum!" Sakura said.

"What they said," Sasuke said.

Naruto stuck his knives in his teeth before throwing a shuriken at the clone and running through hand signs. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said, the one shuriken becoming many, still flying at the clone.

The clone deflected them with ease. "You won't touch me with shuriken. I expected more from the son of the Yellow Flash. If you're this weak, then the Yellow Flash must be losing his touch."

Naruto snarled. "Don't you dare talk about my old man like that!" he exclaimed, making a hand sign. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said, making a large number of Shadow Clones and charging the clone with them, predictably getting knocked back, a number of them dispelling, hiding Naruto in the smoke briefly. Once it cleared, he tossed Sasuke a folded Demon Wind Shuriken.

Sasuke smirked and unfurled it, throwing it past the clone at Zabuza's real body.

"Smart kid. But not smart enough!" Zabuza said, catching the shuriken in his free hand, only to find a second shuriken flying at him. "A second shuriken in the shadow of the first! The Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!" he said, jumping over it to dodge, only to find and feel slash marks appear on his back, courtesy of Naruto. "How?"

Sakura smirked. The smoke from Naruto's Shadow Clones dispelling had been perfect cover for her to cast a genjutsu on Zabuza, making him think there were two shuriken, when in fact there was only one, and that Naruto wasn't coming up behind him to slash his back.

The sudden injury caused Zabuza to lose his grip on his jutsu, making the Water Prison fall apart, freeing Kakashi.

Naruto jumped back to his teammates, grinning. "Never underestimate a Namikaze, Zabuza."

Zabuza growled as his Water Clone charged at Naruto, aiming to cleave him in two.

Naruto grinned and stuck a knife in his teeth before raising his hand. "Beast Wave Gale Palm!" he said, forming a huge claw from his chakra, which destroyed the clone. He then put his knives away and ran through hand signs while Sasuke and Sakura ran through a different set of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Wildfire Tsunami!" they said together, Sasuke and Sakura breathing out a fireball each that combined, while Naruto used Wind Style: Great Breakthrough to make it larger and resemble a flaming tsunami.

Kakashi got away from it while Zabuza retreated further onto the water.

"Collaboration jutsu from fresh Genin?" Zabuza exclaimed as he ran through hand signs. "Water Style: Giant Vortex Jutsu!" he exclaimed, sending a waterfall vortex at the fire. However, Naruto's wind jutsu made the fire strong enough to simply evaporate the water, though it was reduced in power by the time it reached Zabuza.

Tazuna was in awe. The three kids he thought were weak had just owned an A-class rogue ninja, and one of the former Seven Ninja Swordsmen on the Mist no less.

"I think it's safe to say that I underestimated you kids," Zabuza said as the fire died down. He had escaped with his life, but was now sporting second degree burns all over his body, his face bandages burned away to reveal his face, and a mouth with triangle shaped teeth, similar to a shark. "You kids are going to be powerful. I can tell that much already."

"But you won't live to see it," Kakashi said. "This is your last battle, ever," he said as he drew a kunai. But before he could deal the killing blow, a couple of senbon found their way into Zabuza's neck, making him keel over, seeming to be dead.

"Thank you for weakening him. He's sent a number of my colleagues back in body bags," a young man who couldn't be much older than Naruto said, showing himself, a mask hiding his face, the symbol of the Mist Village on the forehead area.

"A Mist Village Tracker Ninja," Sakura said.

"This guy hunts rouge ninja?" Naruto asked. "He's my age."

"You are correct on both counts, Naruto Namikaze," the boy said. "It is an honor to meet three of the Leaf's clan heirs."

"How do you know we're clan heirs?" Sasuke asked.

The boy looked at Sasuke. "Your skill with Fire Style jutsu marked you as an Uchiha. The girl's pink hair, skill with genjutsu, and her skill with Fire jutsu mark her as a Haruno. And the blonde is skilled with Wind Style jutsu, and is also near identical to Minato Namikaze, the Leaf's current Hokage. So from that, I deduce that he is of the Namikaze clan. That and he identified himself earlier."

"Not bad," Kakashi said as the boy went over to Zabuza's body and picked it up, striking a suspicious chord with Sakura.

"Hold on a minute!" Sakura said. "Protocol states that upon killing a rouge ninja, the body is to be destroyed on the spot, not moved in the slightest. You only need the head for identification."

The boy was silent for a moment before leaving with the body before they could react.

"Dammit! He was saving Zabuza!" Naruto said.

"Looks more like he killed him," Tazuna said.

"He used senbon to pierce pressure points in Zabuza's neck, putting him in a death like state," Kakashi said as he covered his Sharingan. "But thanks to those burns, I'd say we have about two weeks before he attacks again. So we have time to prepare."

"That's good," Naruto said.

"Let's go," Kakashi said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Tsunami, I'm home!" Tazuna called as they entered his house.

"Welcome home, father," Tsunami said as a little boy in a hat ran up to Tazuna, hugging him.

"Welcome back, grandpa!" the boy said happily before seeing Squad 7. "Who are they?"

"We're your grandpa's bodyguards," Naruto said. "We're gonna protect him while he finishes that bridge."

"Why bother? You're just going to die! Leave now while you can!" the boy exclaimed.

"Inari!" Tsunami scolded.

"It's true!" Inari exclaimed. "Anyone that stands up to Gato will die!"

Sasuke growled and picked Inari up by his collar. "You think you've got it bad, kid? You lost the closet thing you had to a father, sure, but you don't know what true suffering is! Imagine coming home one night to find that your entire family has been slaughtered! And that they were killed by one you trusted and looked up to... your own older brother!" he snapped, making Tsunami gasp and Inari's eyes widen. "That's exactly what happened to me! Six years ago my brother slaughtered our clan to test his own power! He didn't think I was worth killing, so he let me live. Compared to that, you have absolutely no right to complain! If you want things to change, then stop crying and do something about it! That's what I did. Instead of crying over it forever, I vowed to become more powerful, and one day kill Itachi and avenge my clan." With that, Sasuke dropped Inari and walked outside.

"Did that really happen to him?" Tsunami asked.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. He was a wreck for months, then he went all emo on us."

"I'd better go check on him," Kakashi said, following Sasuke.

Sasuke stared at the water as he sat on the edge of the porch.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked, sitting with him.

"Yeah. That kid is so pathetic, crying about the past. It doesn't help anything," Sasuke said with a sigh. "I think I understand now, the value of comrades."

"Oh?" Kakashi asked.

"When we were freeing you from that Water Prison, if I had tried to face him alone, I'd have been beaten. But with Naruto and Sakura's help, we defeated him," Sasuke said.

Kakashi eye smiled. "I'm glad you realize that now. So, that fire jutsu you three used, did you make that up?"

"Yeah, we just looked at each other and knew that we could pull it off," Sasuke said.

"Most shinobi take years to learn what you three discovered by instinct," Kakashi said, a small amount of pride trickling into his voice.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi and his students stood in the woods behind Tazuna's house the next day.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are we gonna be training in?" Naruto asked.

"You're going to learn to climb a tree without using your hands," Kakashi said, walking up a tree trunk and hanging from the bottom of a branch. "Focus your chakra to the bottom of your feet and use it to adhere to the tree. This will give you better chakra control. Use a kunai to score the bark at the highest point you reach each time."

"Right," the genin said, focusing their chakra and running at the trees, running up them. Each with different results: Sasuke got a few feet before being repelled, Naruto didn't adhere to begin with, and Sakura made it to the top on the first try.

"Well, now we know which of you has the best chakra control," Kakashi said. "And Naruto and Sasuke serve as examples. Too much chakra and you'll get blown off the surface. Too little and you won't adhere to begin with."

"Way to go, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning at his crush.

Sakura blushed at his praise. "T-Thanks, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blushed a bit. **"She called me Naruto-kun!"** he thought happily as he made a hand sign. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he said, making ten clones. "Alright, get to work!" he said, the clones each getting a tree. "We'll beat Zabuza when he shows up again! No doubt about it!"

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Another chapter, done. Hope you enjoy it.


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